Battle of Mingus Mountain
|partof = the NCR Arizona Offensive |image = |caption = An NCR machine gunner taking position on the mountain during the battle |date = October 4th, 2282 |place = Mingus Mountain, former Arizona |result = NCR Victory |combatant1 = New California Republic |combatant2 = Caesar's Legion |commander1 = President Aaron Kimball General Lee Oliver |commander2 = Marius of Phoenix Unknown Legion Officer |strength1 = NCR Defense Force *112th Mountain Infantry Company (150 soldiers) *Five tanks *Four M51 Infantry Fighting Vehicle *Six M113 APCs *2 VB-02 Vertibird Gunships *10 artillery pieces |strength2 = Legion Military *About 150-200 soldiers |casualties1 = Light *9 KIA *21 WIA |casualties2 = Heavy *78 KIA *53 POW }} The Battle of Mingus Mountain was a small-scale battle between the remnants of the Caesar's Legion garrisons of Prescott and Sedona and the New California Republic Defense Force. After the NCR victories at the Siege of Prescott and the Siege of Sedona, the survivors of the Legion garrisons that were not killed or taken prisoner fled into the mountains and canyons around the two cities, where they harassed NCR forces with hit-and-run raids, based on orders given to them by Caesar of the Legion Marius of Phoenix prior to the NCR arrival in the cities, who had ordered the garrisons to hold the NCR Arizona Offensive for as long as possible to allow for the building of defenses around Phoenix. The Battle One of the largest groups of survivors, numbering between 100 and 200 men, including troops from both Prescott and Sedona had retreated up the pre-war US Highway 89A, over the mountains between the two cities. The Legion forces holed up at a pre-war campground and a group of television and radio towers, as well as an old fire lookout, using it as a base for raids on targets such as NCR supply convoys and patrols. After the NCR took control of the city of Sedona on October 2nd, 2282, the Legion holdouts became a major target. On October 4th, 2282, the NCR Army allocated the 112th Mountain Infantry Company, part of the 11th Mountain Infantry Division, along with five tanks and ten IFVs for fire support, as well as two Vertibirds and artillery assets to take the Legion camp. At 1030 hours, NCR forces began their advance up Highway 89A from Sedona. The armored column was harassed on two occasions by Legion hit-and-run attacks, though neither attack caused any casualties. By 1100 hours, the NCR forces reached the top of the pass on US 89A, and the infantry dismounted. The NCR infantry first secured a pair of ridgelines immediately above the gravel road to the Mingus Mountain fire tower and radio facilities. Here, NCR infantry drove off a small Legion party intending to ambush the armored column as they drove along below, in a surprise attack similar to that of the Battle of Oak Creek Canyon. The ambush prevented and hilltops secure, the NCR armor was able to advance down the gravel road to Mingus Lake, a small lake on the flat top of Mingus Mountain, just below the rise that made up the summit proper. At this point, Legion forces fired down on the NCR infantry from the pre-war fire lookout tower and other buildings on the summit proper. The sniper and other fire killed six NCR infantry and wounded six others. The NCR APCs and tanks fired on the lookout station from the summit, an NCR tank destroying the tower with the first shot. Two Vertibird gunships also strafed the Legion position with guns and rockets. The NCR armor also aided the infantry in repulsing a Legion charge down the hillside. This attack cost the Legion over 40 dead. The 112th Mountain Infantry immediately counterattacked up the mountain, eliminating 12 of the Legion holdouts that survived the charge and capturing another 8 when the took the lookout on the summit. With the summit and fire lookout taken, the next target was the Legion camp located in a pre-war campground and a group of nearby radio and television towers. From their position on the old lookout station, the mountain infantry radioed in an artillery strike on the Legion forces. A battery of 155mm howitzers fired on the campground and radio stations. The campground was hit first, followed by the old radio towers. In total, 30 to 40 Legion troops were killed in the bombardment. When the NCR troops reached the destroyed camp, they encountered little resistance, with most of the surviving Legion troops having surrendered by noon that day. Category:Battles Category:Events